Amongst other things I enjoy tinkering with electronics, both new stuff and vintage, and mixing new stuff with vintage.
Here’s an Ethernet card I made for the 1980s Sinclair ZX Spectrum – to get it on the internet:
I also recently started on amateur radio. A friend at the glider club lent me his old HF rig, a Drake TR7 – which was the pinnacle of late 1970s HF transceivers. I built an interface for it (really simple stuff, just isolating transformers, PTT circuit, and some attenuation to get the audio levels right) to be able to do narrowband digital radio, including a new mode that only was created in 2017, almost 40 years after the radio was made.
And the antenna – makeshift resonant dipole for 20 metres (complete with hand-wound common mode choke at the feedpoint)
And this is how far this rig and antenna got, using just 10w transmit power.
Nice thread. I have tried many things throughout the years, once the initial excitement wears off I turn my attention to something new, usually.
Programming was a hobby initially to me, it is now my work since I got good at it, and it is not as much fun anymore.
During my studies at the university, I was introduced to the art of building electronic circuits. I still find it interesting today, and although I’m not working professionally with it I tinker with electronics and microcontrollers when I find some free time.
A thingy you wave in the air and print letters:
CAN-bus interface for Raspberry Pi:
A DIY GSM mobile phone:
I have also tried to learn at least one musical instrument, my choice was guitar. I got as far as I could get without a teacher. I am “ok” at it.
Some of my instruments:
I have been through the “I’m going to be a photographer” crisis, too.
Some nice pictures:
Motorized vehicles is still one of my passions. I own a Kawasaki KLR650 Tengai, but it is located in Greece. I only ride when I’m there. Riding motorcycles in Sweden is not a very good idea, it is very cold. I have also done folk racing trashing old Volvos around a circuit.
My Kawasaki in its natural element:
About to trash an old Volvo:
Aviation is here to stay and if I am lucky enough it might even become my profession in the future. I like the view from the office.
Very recently I managed to get two hours in a truely remarkable Caravelle Sim in Ismaring near Munich. Time of my life yet again! Anyone having the chance, highly recommended. I know the Caravelle very well from my past and it was very much like the real thing.
My wife bought me a ‘flight’ in that Caravele simulator as a Christmas gift… and I sure enjoyed it a lot. I was surprised at the physical effort to fly that thing, slow roll response.
MedEwok wrote:
I sympathise a lot with your answer. Of course the answer to the question “what do you love?” got to be my wife, children and thus family!
Maybe the internationally understandable title should have been “love to do” as in German we indeed use the word “love” a bit more restrictive for other things than our family whereas in English it is more widely used. Same goes for “hate” by the way, particularly in US English. Took me a while to get used to that when moderating a US political forum…
I suppose you use the term quite suitable with passion.
Having said that, flying and aviation is definitly more than just a passion for me. It has been my life since I am a teenager and somehow will be for the rest of my life in some capacity or other. I started flying with 18, did a lot of flight simming including professionally for many years and am now sort of back to flying for real. Could I do without it? Very difficult and if so I would definitly stay in the scene in some capacity, probably back to flight simming, maybe even getting my own proper sim.
Very recently I managed to get two hours in a truely remarkable Caravelle Sim in Ismaring near Munich. Time of my life yet again! Anyone having the chance, highly recommended. I know the Caravelle very well from my past and it was very much like the real thing.
And one other thing I’d probably do, even though I am trying to do that anyway: Go back to writing. Some of you know I used to write professionally for a flight simulation mag for 13 years (and have a book published from that time) and I miss that massively. Maybe I’ll some day finish the two novels which still sit in raw stages on my harddrives….
Interesting topic…
I have a few classic motorcycles (Honda Fours) I like to tinker with in my workshop, I certainly enjoy cooking a good meal and drinking a glass(es) of red wine a Friday evening, I like to travel to new places, and I do (really) enjoy the boat in the summertime (the few summer days we have here in Norway), I like running and the gym, but aviation is my life. It is my job, it is my hobby, and very few days goes by without thinking aircraft or aviation.
Of course I love my wife, kid and dogs, but that’s a different kind of love.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Since about a year and three months my priorities changed a lot! Happy as can be to have become a father when I had given up, so aviation is a bit on the back burner until my girl is old enough to enjoy it with me. But by the looks of it, she is already infected with the aviation virus
I sympathise a lot with your answer. Of course the answer to the question “what do you love?” got to be my wife, children and thus family!
Flying I like a lot but I wouldn’t call it “love” in a strict sense of the word.
My other passions would be:
)I see that a significant part of you have a hobby on the water while mine… is under the water
Another “hobby” is following my wife on the holidays she plans & organise where we do light walking and take a lot of pictures.
Last in date was Namibia (still have to make some selections among the 4800 pictures).
I can not dive much, last medical I was told that I have to choose between flying and diving, my ear canal is closing due to pressure. Now only a few times a year.
I learned skiing later in my life when in Macedonia working for OSCE. I am Portuguese, skiing is far from being a national sport 
Bikes, the BMW photo is close to the border between Lebanon and Syria. In 2015 I crossed Europe from Cabo da Roca (Western point in Europe) to Lebanon.
Mostly right now, my incoming is spend on annuals, AvGas, parking and landing fees, and all derivatives of having a small airplane in the air.
That’s a really interesting set of hobbies, lmsl. There are other scuba divers here, especially @emir who does cave diving! I did about 75% of the BSAC course years ago and dropped out when I saw the 10mm wetsuits which everybody had peed into Skiing of course is a national sport for you; I have just started.
A bit about me and my hobbies.
For 23 years I devoted my life into the army.
My last day.
During that time, I started my interest for aviation, not only for spending my life exiting from aircrafts in perfect conditions, but also because I started what I called a ‘jobbie’
Currently, my professional life doesn’t allow me to have as much free time as I would like, but on the other hand provides me with some financial resources for some expensive hobbies (as my friends and family defines them)
My latest love
Other loves
And other things I do
Last but not the least I also like to spend some time resting
And reading or reaserching on some matters of interest and need for my job.
